


Into the Sun

by makototouchmybanana



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, M/M, Pining, Relationship Study, hinata is cute, i love my kids, kageyama is weak for hina smiles but aren't we all, kags is big gay, takes place during season one mostly, tsukki is like "yes im gay. yes im homophobic. we exist."
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:13:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22259272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makototouchmybanana/pseuds/makototouchmybanana
Summary: To Kageyeama, “What have you been doing these past three years?” wasn’t another way of saying “How can you be a third year and be this awful? You must have been slacking."It was more of a“Why haven’t I competed against you before?"“Where have you been all this time?”“You could make a worthy opponent, and I’d like to see you in action again.”-Kageyama is big gay.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio
Comments: 13
Kudos: 373





	Into the Sun

**Author's Note:**

> hey everyone, long time no see! I haven't been writing much since I started college, but I've been rewatching haikyuu over j term and damn these boys GAY gay, huh? I tried to make it as close to cannon as possible, but honestly I'm a bit too lazy to go and rewatch episodes I just watched a few days ago to get the dialogue and everything exactly right, so I'm sorry if there are any mistakes!

“Who the hell is this kid?” Kageyama thought.

He wasn’t perfect. Frankly, he couldn’t even bring himself to describe him as “good”. His receives were sloppy, to say the least. He didn’t have much control. His serves were weak as well. The only thing he seemed to have some sort of a grasp on was spiking.

Even so, as Kindaichi failed to spike yet another one of Kageyama’s tosses, he couldn’t help but wish that kid was on his side of the net.

Despite his fumbles and sub-par skills, he could see some unlocked potential behind his tiny frame. He ran and jumped around the court like the whole world depended on his every move, and in a way, it did. His teammates were even worse than he was, but it didn’t seem to phase him, which was perplexing. Kitagawa Daiichi had wins and a strong reputation behind its back, and Kageyama still felt he needed to take control in order for them to win anything. He wished he could set, spike, serve, and receive all on his own. He couldn’t imagine how the hell this guy managed to stay so cheery when his team was obviously failing.

A little voice in his head told him that maybe if the red-head had been on the same team as someone like Oikawa-san, his spikes would be unstoppable.

Kageyama frowned and told Kindaichi to jump faster. 

-

The new kid’s team was soon defeated, no surprise.

Kageyama approached the net. “Hey! What have you been doing these past three years?”

He hadn’t meant it as an insult, but his short opponent and his team members seemed to believe otherwise. They scolded him, tears in the red-head’s eyes as they walked away defeatedly.  
Kageyama’s coach shot him an exasperated look. He huffed and left the net to go join the rest of his team. 

To Kageyeama, “What have you been doing these past three years?” wasn’t another way of saying “How can you be a third year and be this awful? You must have been slacking.”

It was more of a

“Why haven’t I competed against you before?”

“Where have you been all this time?”

“You could make a worthy opponent, and I’d like to see you in action again.” 

But instead he took the blow, only correcting the kid- Hinata Shoyou, he learned -when he used that stupid “King” nickname. When Hinata swore to defeat him, Kageyama accepted it. He hoped he would stick to his word. Being on the same court as Hinata felt different, in a way. Kageyama just couldn’t put his finger on how. 

-

Kageyama’s last match was a crushing blow. 

He thought he could win it all no problem with the right tosses- fast and hard to keep them on their feet. But his teammates could never hit it, and Kageyama’s panic and frustration grew as the score grew closer and closer to 25 on each side, Kitagawa Daiichi failing over and over again to pull into the lead, and as his emotions spiraled, so did his tosses. Kageyama became more reckless than he ever had before, but he refused to place the blame on himself. He ordered his teammates to jump higher, spike harder, run faster, to no prevail. 

He didn’t recognize his faults until it was too late. 

Kageyama’s teammates abandoned him. His toss fell to the ground, not because no one could get to it in time, but because they wanted it to. They would rather lose than hit another one of Kageyama’s tosses. 

He felt a chasm open up between them. His team, his coach, everyone in the stands- all their eyes were on him, and not in a good way. 

“No one hit his toss?”

“That’s what he gets.”

“What else would you expect from the king of the court?”

He’s benched soon after, pit in his stomach reaching down to the floor. He knows he messed up. He knows it’s his fault they’re going to lose. 

But he can’t help but wonder if the enthusiastic fireball from his first match would’ve been able to hit some of those spikes, recklessness and all. 

-

“He’s alright,” Kageyama thought.

Hinata still couldn’t receive for the life of him, but he was getting a bit better since Daichi-san had kicked them out of the gym for accidentally smacking the vice principal’s ugly toupee off his bald head. He’d become so frustrated with the other’s antics that he’d admitted he’d rather set, serve, spike, and receive all on his own than work with him- something he’d tried to stop thinking after being abandoned by his previous team. Embarrassing. How did Daichi-san manage to get that out of him?

As annoying as Hinata could be at times, he was quickly surpassed on Kageyama’s “People I Want to Hit the Most” list by another much taller first year, Tsukishima Kei. Who the hell did that guy think he was? Taking the ball from Hinata and Kageyama while they were practicing receives, making fun of Hinata’s height, mocking Kageyama with that damn “king of the court” bullshit that he was trying so hard to escape. It would’ve been so easy just to grab him by the shirt and wipe that smirk on his face, but Kageyama held back. Tsukishima was trying to rile him up on purpose, and he refused to give him another reason to hold his dreaded old nickname over his head. 

But unlike Kageyama, Hinata didn’t have a reputation. 

He used that jump of his that Kageyama had first witnessed a few months before to his advantage, surprising Tsukishima and Yamaguchi both, taking the volleyball from his hands. Even though Kageyama had not been the most pleasant person to him since they ran into each other in the Karasuno gym, Hinata defended him and pledged that they would win the match. Tsukishima didn’t seem bothered either way, more annoyed at the pair’s intensity than anything, but the gesture didn’t go unnoticed by Kageyama.  
Hinata was small and unassuming, sloppy in his technique. But maybe, in some ways, that might not be a bad thing. Tsukishima certainly didn’t see that jump coming, so it was possible that the teams Karasuno would soon go up against would make the same mistake. Like Oikawa-san before him, Kageyama could use Hinata’s strengths to help him overcome his shortcomings and shine. However, they had to win against the upperclassmen in order for him to do so. If they didn’t, Sugawara-san would beat Kageyama out for the official team setter. Kageyama didn’t underestimate his senpai’s abilities, he had two extra years of experience after all, but Kageyama wanted to be the first to show off Karasuno’s little secret. That, and he wanted to be setter more than anything. He didn’t know who he would be without his position. The sun had already set long ago, but Kageyama called Hinata back over for another receive. He reveled in the smile that lit up Hinata’s face more than he’d like to admit. 

-

They’d been going at it for a while- almost fifteen minutes according to Sugawara-san. The hard work they’d put in over the past few days shown. Hinata was solidly receiving everything Kageyama could throw at him. His skinny arms were bruised and bright red, surely it stung, but Hinata’s determination was as strong as ever. Eyebrows pinched in concentration, he yelled for another one.

“Bring it on!” 

Some of the other upperclassmen entered the gym and watched, talking amongst themselves, but Kageyama didn’t pay them much mind. How could he when this fiery ball of energy was demanding every ounce of his attention, loud and unapologetic, taking each ball like his life depended on it. Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead, his face flushed red, eyebrows pinched in concentration. 

He was mesmerising to watch. 

Kageyama accidentally hit the ball a little too hard. It soared over Hinata’s head, having almost enough momentum to hit the wall behind him. 

Kageyama’s eyes grew wide with panic. “Damn it.”

If anyone else had been in Hinata’s place, they wouldn’t have bothered going after it. It was Kageyama’s mistake; there was no point in wasting energy chasing after a botched serve while practicing receives. 

But Hinata was Hinata, and he lived to defy the odds. 

His eyes bored into the ball as it flew overhead, teeth clenched. Hinata’s sneakers dug into the wood floor as he abruptly changed his position, using every ounce of breath he had left to chase Kageyama’s serve across the room. 

Kageyama watched in awe as his little partner dove to the ground, fist coming up beneath the ball and hitting it back his way with a grunt. 

It was then that Kageyama knew the time had come. 

All this week Hinata had been begging for a toss. Kageyama denied him time after time, saying “I won’t toss to anyone who isn’t vital for the team.” A harsh statement, Kageyama now acknowledged, but he didn’t regret it. By withholding a toss from him, Hinata’s determination to get better, determination to win only grew stronger. If he had to work to get what he desired, then so be it. Hinata was willing to work three times as hard as anyone else. His potential was astounding, and quite frankly terrifying. It almost made Kageyama worry that he’d succeed in surpassing him someday like he had promised to that first day they met. 

Key word- “almost”. 

But before they could go anywhere together, Kageyama had to give him what he’d been begging for all week. 

He gave Hinata a toss. 

The upperclassmen scolded him under their breath from where they stood in the doorway. Hinata was halfway across the gym; there was no way he’d have the stamina to run back and spike that toss after practicing receives for so long!

Kageyama smiled to himself. Just like Tsukishima, they were in for a surprise. 

When Hinata realized what Kageyama had done, a blinding grin lit up his face, eyes so full of excitement that they almost seemed to sparkle. He changed courses once again, approaching the net with such enthusiasm and speed it was like he had just started his first match. And then he jumped. 

Hinata was flying. 

The volleyball hit the other side of the court with a deafening smack. The upperclassmen were shocked into silence, but it was quickly broken by Hinata’s overjoyed screech 

“THAT WAS SO COOOOL!” He looked down at his hands, then back at Kageyama with that contagious smile Kageyama would soon learn to know and love. 

“That felt so good! Give me another one, Kageyama-kun!” 

“You got it.”  
-

Karasuno’s first official match was against Tokonami. Hinata’s bumbling nervousness had disappeared by the time the first set started, thank god. Kageyama really didn’t want to have another serve hit the back of his head, even if the situation had proven beneficial to calm the spiker’s anxiety in a pinch. After their practice match with Nekoma, the two had finally found their rhythm and were able to do normal-speed tosses. They both preferred their signature freak-quick, but slowing it down had no doubt improved Hinata’s skills. Not to mention it also gave them a new edge on their opponents. 

“Hey, Hinata,” Kageyama called his teammate over. “We should do it now, definitely.” 

Any stray onlooker may have been confused about this statement, but Hinata knew exactly what the setter meant. He grinned, punching the air excitedly.

“Are we gonna do it? Are we gonna zoom? Are we?” he giggled. 

Kageyama couldn’t help but smile back. “I think it’s about time.” 

Their opponents, and everyone in the stands, had been underestimating Karasuno, especially their “little number ten”, for long enough today. Kageyama didn’t show it, but he was almost as excited about showing off their quick for the first time as Hinata was. He told himself it was because the more Hinata shined, the more focus would be on him, giving the other players a chance to rise to their full strength. The other teams wouldn’t notice what hit them before it was too late. Although all this was true, Kageyama also enjoyed Hinata’s reaction to their quick. There was something about the way his whole face lit up after a successful spike that made Kageyama’s cheeks feel almost as red as Hinata’s hand. Having someone say his tosses felt good boosted his mood, like it would for anyone else, but seeing Hinata genuinely happy about something he had helped him do was the best reward of all. 

Hinata had sworn to be rivals, and knowing how determined the spiker was to make it to the top, Kageyama had no doubt that they eventually would be. But for now, he reveled in having Hinata working alongside him, bringing out the best in him. 

-

After their final match of the day with Date Kogyo, everyone was exhausted. Happy, but exhausted. For once, the bus ride was quiet, Karasuno’s boys drifting off to sleep. Hinata insisted on racing Kageyama to the bus, saying “Whoever wins gets the window seat!” but now he was just as gone as the others, grumbling as his tired head bonked against the bus window. Even Hinata’s stamina couldn’t last forever. 

Kageyama was just nodding off himself when he felt a weight against his shoulder. He cracked open his eyes to see Hinata leaning on him, out like a light. He must’ve accidentally slumped to Kageyama’s side in his sleep, unconscious body deciding it was a better option than the rattley bus window.

It wasn’t weird. Hell, Nishinoya was passed out on Tanaka’s shoulder in the seat behind them. But Kageyama couldn’t help but feel a bit… embarrassed, was it? He wasn’t sure. Him and Hinata touched all the time, but never like this. They were usually rough, Kageyama pulling at Hinata’s hair or the collar of his shirt whenever he was being a dumbass, which was quite often. No, this was soft and unintentional. Hinata’s chubby cheek squished against Kageyama, his breath fanning across his neck. A little bit of drool was forming in the corner of his mouth that Kageyama really should have found disgusting, but for some reason he didn’t. It was endearing, even. He scrunched up his nose. Since when did Kageyama find Hinata’s drool endearing? 

Eventually, Kageyama dozed off to sleep, getting comfortable in this new position and resting his head on top of Hinata’s orange mop of hair. Hinata’s soft orange mop of hair. 

-

The familiar twists and turns of the roads near Karasuno nudged Kageyama awake. He blinked, blowing stray strands of Hinata’s hair out of his mouth. The weight on his shoulder had grown heavier, and was now accompanied by a pair of skinny arms wrapped tightly around one of his own. It was no secret that Hinata had a habit of hugging things in his sleep. The little spiker had been mortified during training camp when he woke up latched onto Sugawara-san’s leg, even though the upperclassman assured him that it was okay. Kageyama had a feeling he’d have to do the same thing when Hinata eventually woke up. He could have gently pried Hinata off him to save him some embarrassment, but he didn’t. He just watched as Hinata nestled closer, mumbling something incoherent in his sleep. 

Kageyama smiled. 

“Alright everyone, wake up. We’re here,” Coach Ukai announced.

A collective groan was heard across the bus. Everyone shuffled around, slowly grabbing their things and waking their sleeping teammates. Kageyama supposed he should do the same.

“Hey, Hinata,” he said quietly, jostling his shoulder a little. 

Hinata pouted in his sleep, clinging harder onto Kageyama’s arm.

“Five more minutes..” 

If they were anywhere else Kageyama might have given in to him. Doing so was getting easier with every passing day, but he really wasn’t in the mood to hear Tsukishima say some snarky remark about the king getting comfortable with his servants or something. 

“Hinata, we’re here. Wake up.” He shook the other’s shoulder with the arm that wasn’t currently being used as a pillow. 

“Mmn,” Hinata whined, but opened his eyes. As soon as he noticed what he was doing, he let go of Kageyama like he was hot coal and backed up against the window as far as he could, cheeks crimson. 

“K-Kageyama-kun!” Hinata stammered. The fear in his eyes was similar to when he served that volleyball into the back of Kageyama’s head. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to! I must have, ah, slipped! That’s right! I-” 

Kageyama smacked a palm on top of Hinata’s head like he always did when the spiker was being a dumbass. Hinata exclaimed in pain, but at least he stopped spewing stupid excuses. Kageyama loosened his grip, earning a confused look. 

“It’s fine. You worked hard today, it makes sense that you’re tired.” Kageyama couldn’t bring himself to look in Hinata’s eyes, opting for the seat in front of him instead. 

“Oh,” came the reply. 

There was a moment of awkward silence.

“Kageyama, I-” 

“Come on, you two!” Nishinoya called from the front of the bus. “The store manager said we were on TV!”

“TV!” Hinata exclaimed, all previous thoughts seemingly abandoned. “Move it, Kageyama, I wanna see!” 

Kageyama awkwardly shuffled into the aisle to let his smaller counterpart through. He sighed, shouldering his bag. 

-

The two of them sat on Kageyama’s bed. Kageyama was laying down, setting a volleyball towards the ceiling, with Hinata leaning against the wall, legs splayed across Kageyama’s own. After the whole bus incident, the two had become even more close. It was obvious to them and everyone around them that they complimented each other on the court, but they’d soon discovered that this applied to the world beyond volleyball as well. Kageyama was the one who could calm Hinata’s nerves, Hinata was the one who could replace Kageyama’s twisted expression with a smile. They still weren’t great at communication, but somewhere along the way the line between a simple friendship and something more was crossed. Something new, but not unwelcome. Something that was uniquely them. Something that made it acceptable for Hinata to tackle Kageyama in a hug after an especially good quick rather than leaving Kageyama to stare longingly at the other from across the court. Yes, he’d been pining for way longer than he’d like to admit. 

“Hey, Kageyama.” Hinata put down the sports magazine he was reading.

“Hm?” 

“Does this mean I can call you Tobio-chan now?”

Kageyama nearly dropped the volleyball on his face. 

“Absolutely not.” 

Hinata giggled, moving to straddle Kageyama’s hips. “Why not? It’s so cute! Tobio-chaaan!”

Kageyama dropped the ball in favor of slapping a hand over Hinata’s mouth. 

“When you say that it just makes you sound like Oikawa-san.” Kageyama huffed. “If you call me that, I’m gonna call you dumbass Hinata.” 

Hinata cocked his head. “But you already call me that? All the time?” 

A year or two ago Hinata might have said that statement seriously, but he’d gotten better at reading the lines between Kageyama’s words, and in return, Kageyama had gotten better at reading Hinata, too. 

So when Kageyama said “Dumbass, that’s not what I meant!” and sat up to tackle Hinata to the mattress, the other burst out in laughter, letting his body flop down with a soft thud. Hinata’s arms spread out above his head, less skinny and more toned as he’d grown stronger since their first year. Kageyama’s old hoodie was a bit too big on him, exposing a little bit of his left collarbone. His smile was as wide as ever, almost as bright as the red hair that framed his face, which was speckled with the last of the freckles from the past summer. 

He was cute, and Kageyama could finally acknowledge the pinch in his gut when he looked at him without confusion.

“Kiss me, Tobio.” 

Kageyama did. Hinata’s lips were a bit chapped, but his enthusiasm always made up for it, hands cupping each side of Kageyama’s face as he hummed contently into the kiss. 

“I really like you, you know,” Hinata said, an echo of Kageyama’s own thoughts. 

“I really like you too, Shoyou.” 

-

“Come on Tobio, lets race!” 

Hinata waved the dust mop around in his hands, reminding Kageyama of when they first ran down the court side by side during their first year, yelling their damn heads off and racing to see who could sweep the gym floor the fastest. 

“Aren’t we a bit old for that?” They were third-years now, not to mention co-captains of the Karasuno volleyball team. The underclassmen were used to their senpai’s antics by now, but running around with brooms was a bit… much at this point. 

“Just for old time’s sake! Pleaaase!” Hinata looked up at him with those stupid doe-eyes that Kageyama was having a harder and harder time of refusing. 

“Fine. But just this once.”

“Yay!”

Hinata handed Kageyama the other dust mop, and they lined up at the broom closet entrance.

“Ready? One, two…” 

Hinata suddenly stood on his tip-toes, giving Kageyama’s cheek a peck.

“Three!”

He took off down the court while Kageyama still stood there, flustered.

“Hey! You did that on purpose, you asshole!” 

Hinata’s proud giggle echoed around the gym, Kageyama right on his heels.

Tsukishima looked the pair up and down from where he stood helping first years stretch. He squinted his eyes in distaste. 

“Suddenly, I’m homophobic.” 

“Tsukki, don’t say that!” Yamaguchi scolded, but there was no malice in either of their voices. 

With the wind in his face and Hinata looking back at him with a smile, Kageyama didn’t have a care in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> tsukki: Im homophobic
> 
> yamaguchi: .... babe we've been dating for two years


End file.
